Shanara Order
The Shanara Order is an Ancient Organization dating back to the First Scourge, seven hundred years after the formation of the Planar System. The Organization's primary goal is to halt further Scourge's from spreading too far over the planes of existence. History The first scourge began approximately seven hundred years after the planar system formed. Reserved to a solitary plane of existence, the scourge began when beings known only as "The Spawn" began to swarm over the plane, taking over all in its path. The warriors of the plane fought back for a thousand years before a group of Veteran Warriors from all walks of life gathered in the fortress of Weisshaupt. There, they banded together and raised an army trained specifically to combat the Spawn. After decades of preparation, the Spawn began to march on the fortress. In an attempt to intercept the Spawn's advance, the Order's commander led a small, concentrated force against them, a force that fought against the Spawn Horde for nine infamous weeks until only the commander and a lone scout remained. The commander infamously sent the scout back to Weisshaupt to tell the tale of the battle before standing to fight the Horde on his own. The Order would eventually name itself after him, taking the name of The Shanara Order. The Shanara Order would go on to battle the Scourge Horde in a battle that would last two weeks before A Squad of Shanara Warriors battled and struck down a being that would later be branded the Vol, head of the Scourge. The Shanara who struck down the Vol famously died doing so, and had a statue erected in Weisshaupt in his honor. It would be nearly four million years before the next Scourge struck, but under the command of a mysterious, anonymous leader, the Shanara remained vigilant and sought to recruit new members for the order, as well as expanding to other planes. The Second Scourge began in approximately 400 billion BCE, on a plane known as Faeodal, taking the Order by surprise by beginning elsewhere. By the time the Shanara had figured out where it had begun, the Scourge had quickly spread to four other planes. The Second Scourge lasted two-hundred years before being stopped in a battle at the core of the Scourge on Faeodal, ending when a Shanara cast a spell that, by chance, struck down the second Vol and killed it. The credited Shanara was found dead on the battlefield later, and, like the first, had a statue erected in her honor. Known Members Stevarth.jpg|Stevarth Jikazun, Marethari Olonaen and political leader and head diplomat of the Order. Suriel.jpg|Suriel Ailuin, governing leader and head of the Research Department. Salathiel.jpg|Salathiel Ailuin, battlefield commander in chief and Head of Security. Erolith.jpg|Erolith Kindel, Head of the Specialist Training department. ShanaraLeader.jpg|A sketch of the Anonymous Leader of the Shanara Order, drawn by Keryn Renner from a brief glimpse of him. The Four Scourges The Shanara Order, in its existence, has repelled four of the cataclysmic events referred to as the Scourges. Following the defeat of each Scourge, the Anonymous Leader personally creates a painting of the final battle, supposedly ingraining parts of his memory as well as the memory of other Shanara into the paint itself. Scourge1.jpg|The painting of the final battle of the First Scourge. Scourge2.jpg|The painting of the final battle of the Second Scourge. Scourge3.jpg|The painting of the duel that ended the Third Scourge. Scourge4.jpg|The painting of the duel between the brother Shanara, one a traitor and one a loyalist, that ended the Fourth Scourge.